“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
PassionAchievement
Great Quotes
200 FAMOUS QUOTES · GREAT
Great Quotes
Read the best great quotes on greatness, ambition and achieving great things from Vivekananda, Kabir, Churchill, Carlyle, Lao Tzu, Thiruvalluvar and more.
“The price of greatness is responsibility.”
Winston Churchill
ResponsibilityLeadership
“A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men.”
Thomas Carlyle
KindnessCharacter
“The sage, while he never does what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things.”
Lao Tzu
HumilityWisdom
“What use is it to be great like the date palm? It gives no shade to the traveller, and its fruit hangs far out of reach.”
Kabir
HumilityUsefulness
“Do not discard the small on seeing the big; where a needle is needed, what can a sword do?”
Rahim
Small ThingsWisdom
“We feel that we are greater than we know.”
William Wordsworth
PotentialSelf Belief
“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.”
Samuel Johnson
PerseveranceHard Work
“There is no great genius without some touch of madness.”
Seneca
GeniusCreativity
“Little things affect little minds.”
Benjamin Disraeli
MindsetShort Quotes
“The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor.”
Aristotle
CreativityLanguage
“The greatness of man is great in that he knows himself to be miserable.”
Blaise Pascal
Self AwarenessPhilosophy
“Great thoughts and a pure heart, that is what we should ask from God.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Pure HeartPrayer
“Great floods have flown from simple sources.”
William Shakespeare
Small BeginningsGrowth
“Though strength be lacking, yet the willingness is to be praised; in great endeavours, even to have had the will is enough.”
Ovid
EffortCourage
“Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time.”
Swami Vivekananda
Hard WorkPatience
“Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvellous work.”
Swami Vivekananda
FearlessnessMotivation
“Each work has to pass through these stages: ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance.”
Swami Vivekananda
PersistenceSuccess
“The man endowed with greatness true, rare deeds, by rule of right, can do.”
Thiruvalluvar
GreatnessCharacter
“Greatness humbly bends, but littleness always spreads its plumes and loves itself to praise.”
Thiruvalluvar
HumilityPride
“Things hard in the doing will the great perform; the little cannot do them.”
Thiruvalluvar
ChallengesGreatness
“For he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.”
The Bible (Luke 9:48)
HumilityFaith
“Consider how great things he hath done for you.”
The Bible (1 Samuel 12:24)
GratitudeFaith
“Every man is worth just so much as the things are worth about which he busies himself.”
Marcus Aurelius
PurposeSelf Worth
“The Infinite is bliss. There is no bliss in the finite.”
The Upanishads
JoySpirituality
Related Topics
About Great Quotes
What makes someone truly great? It isn't fame, money or power. Again and again, history's wisest voices point to the same qualities: humility, perseverance, courage, kindness and the willingness to keep going when the path gets hard. Greatness is usually built from small, steady steps rather than one big moment.
This collection brings together 200 of the best great quotes from Swami Vivekananda, Kabir, Winston Churchill, Thomas Carlyle, Lao Tzu, Thiruvalluvar, Aristotle and more. Some will inspire you to dream bigger, and others will remind you what real greatness looks like. For more uplifting words, explore our [Inspirational Quotes](/topics/inspirational-quotes).
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Great quotes.
What is a famous quote about greatness?
Winston Churchill said, "The price of greatness is responsibility." Thomas Carlyle added that a great man shows his greatness "by the way he treats little men."
What did Kabir say about being great?
Kabir compared empty greatness to a date palm that is tall but gives no shade to the traveller and keeps its fruit far out of reach. True greatness, he suggests, is being useful to others.
What did Vivekananda say about great work?
Swami Vivekananda said, "Great work requires great and persistent effort for a long time," and that every new idea faces "ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance."
Do great things start small?
Yes. Dante wrote, "From a little spark may burst a mighty flame," and Shakespeare said, "Great floods have flown from simple sources."
What is the link between greatness and humility?
Many thinkers say true greatness is humble. Thiruvalluvar wrote that "greatness humbly bends," while Saint Augustine said the foundation of greatness is humility.
What are good short great quotes?
Try "The price of greatness is responsibility," "Small things grow great by concord," "Little things affect little minds," or "The great vessel is the last to be completed."